Ophelia's fell through, but a new restaurant has plans for the same quirky Commercial Street space

This building at 300 E. Commercial St. is being renovated by landlords Joe and Craig Hosmer and had been expected to become the home of Ophelia's wine bar until that restaurant's owners stepped away from the project. A young chef, Drake Tillman, plans to open a restaurant there in mid-2019.(Photo: Andrew Jansen/News-Leader)

That left an opening for another restaurateur, and Tillman stepped in to fill the gap.

He told the News-Leader that the Hosmers made contact with him. Tillman expects his restaurant, dubbed Elkhart, to open in mid-2019.

Chef Drake Tillman, left, operated a pop-up restaurant called Canvas last year. Now he plans to open a full-fledged restaurant on Commercial Street.(Photo: Dean Curtis/For the News-Leader)

Tillman chose the name because it is associated with the building. He said that on social media, the Muetzels reported they found bottles of medications manufactured in Elkhart, Indiana, inside the building, which they said was once a pharmacy.

The building has two above-ground levels, a lower level and the underground cellar space. The Elkhart will be on the lower level of the building, with the underground cellar converted into a private dining room, Tillman said.

Excavation of a long-forgotten underground space beneath a Commercial Street building began June 22, 2017. The building is now being leased out for a "modern American" restaurant, Elkhart, slated to open in mid-2019.(Photo: Submitted photo)

The street level will be a lounge called The Robberson and serve lunch and "elevated bar food" by night.

While Tillman advertises the Elkhart as "vegetable-forward" on the restaurant's website, he said it is "definitely not" a vegetarian or vegan restaurant.

"Vegetable-forward means we'll use vegetables at the center of the dish, for some dishes, but we'll have lots of proteins also," Tillman said.

He plans to have as much seasonal local food on the menu as possible, for example, Missouri Wagyu beef or cultivated wild items like mushrooms, ramps or golden glow greens.

Tillman acknowledged that opening a restaurant of this type in Springfield is "for sure, risky."

"We're not trying to do a tasting-menu restaurant," he said, referring to high-end restaurants serving many courses of cutting-edge food with costly wine or other beverage pairings.

For example, Kansas City's Bluestem, whose chef won a James Beard Award in 2013, has a seven-course menu option with wine pairings totaling $190 per person.

"We want to be approachable," Tillman said, "and not have it feel like it's pretentious and overpriced."

"It's what I call modern food."

Between now and the restaurant's opening, Tillman said he and his landlords will work through the remaining infill construction, he will purchase restaurant equipment and refine the Elkhart's concept, and he will host some pop-up dinners under the Elkhart brand.

The Springfield Business Journal reported Monday that Joe Hosmer said the renovation process would cost about $1.5 million and that Hosmer declined to say whether Tillman is spending any money toward the renovation.

Hosmer, who owns 300 E. Commercial St. with his brother through their company Northbridge 300 LLC, added that the building's second floor will have three loft apartments.